Car Spies: Is Your Privacy Being Breached?

When a truck exploded in front of Trump Tower in Las Vegas, the shock of the incident quickly turned into amazement. The Tesla involved was quickly able to reveal all kinds of important information related to the hours prior to the incident, giving investigators insights they may not have had at the time, if ever. While the data-tracking of the vehicle proved to be incredibly helpful to law enforcement in this emergency situation, it also brought attention to the delicate balance between valuable data collection and privacy rights. And damage to your privacy could mean a personal injury lawsuit is worth your time.

Data Capabilities 

If you’re driving a fairly new vehicle, you know that your car knows right where you’re headed when you start up most days. And, being synced with your phone, it also has access to your texting history, contact list, and call logs. Cameras and sensors, built-in apps, and sometimes even social media accounts are all part of the computer system in today’s vehicles. They make life easier, right? But have you ever wondered who else might have access to all of that data?

There’s More Going on than You Know 

You may not know that your vehicle is capable of generating 25 GB of data hourly and collecting over 100 data points from microphones, connected devices, cameras and sensors. Everything from your browsing habits to your personal information, financial data, and behavior is collected. AI systems are able to look at the data and make inferences about your abilities, intelligence, personal characteristics, personal preferences, and more. And all that information is in your car, and in the cloud. Perhaps that’s one reason Mozilla Foundation determined that the worst category of product related to privacy. Notably, Upstream Security reports that 40 percent of all data breaches are related to the automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi have all had data breaches, impacting nearly 5 million customers.

 Legal Cases

 According to Ford Motor, car companies collect data from vehicles and share it with insurance companies, sometimes with the customer’s knowledge. Other times, companies like GM, Kia, Hyundai and Honda offer customers features to rate their driving; then, unbeknownst to customers, that information is passed on to data brokers such as LexisNexis, who shares it with insurance companies, who may then raise rates. GM’s  OnStar Smart Driver is one such monitoring service, and it has  shared the data with insurance companies, even for customers who’ve turned off the feature. General Motors has been sued for sharing information about driving habits with insurers, who had no reasonable expectation that it was going on.

Advocating for You 

If your privacy has been breached and it led to problems like higher insurance, you may have a case worth pursuing. To discuss, contact our experienced Kissimmee personal injury attorneys at Salazar & Kelly Law Group in our office today.

Source:

latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-01-05/tesla-data-helped-police-after-las-vegas-truck-explosion-but-experts-have-wider-privacy-concerns